Nagant 1895

The famous Nagant M1895 Revolver was developed and made by two brothers, Emile and Leon Nagant in their company Fabrique d'armes Émile et Léon Nagant. The company was established in 1859 in Liege, Belgium. Later the company was renamed "L. Nagant & Cie, Liége." The Nagant brothers were probably best known for their important contributions to the design of the Mosin-Nagant Russian service rifle, adopted in 1891. The Russian government adopted the Nagant revolver in 1895. It was first made in Liege and then in 1897 production was moved to Tula, Russia where it was produced until 1945. In total, over 2 million of them were made. The Nagant M1895 was a gas-seal revolver with a non-removable cylinder. It was loaded and unloaded through a gate at the right hand side of the frame. It used uniquely designed cartridges that would seal the cylinder in order not to allow gas to escape through the gap between the barrel breech and cylinder.